W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Shares of W.P. Carey Inc. (NYSE:WPC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $70.02 and last traded at $70.0150, with a volume of 723609 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WPC. Barclays set a $65.00 target price on shares of W.P. Carey in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of W.P. Carey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on W.P. Carey from $79.00 to $74.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on W.P. Carey from $69.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on W.P. Carey from $60.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.45.

W.P. Carey Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 42.54, a PEG ratio of 5.79 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.10 and a 200 day moving average of $66.00.

W.P. Carey (NYSE:WPC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.02. W.P. Carey had a return on equity of 4.40% and a net margin of 21.75%.The firm had revenue of $431.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $424.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. W.P. Carey has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.930-4.990 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that W.P. Carey Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

W.P. Carey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This is a boost from W.P. Carey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.91. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.2%. W.P. Carey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 223.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On W.P. Carey

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WPC. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,329,159 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $844,065,000 after acquiring an additional 119,817 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in W.P. Carey by 1.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,606,018 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $286,581,000 after purchasing an additional 87,150 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 416.8% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,892,462 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $263,014,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139,266 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in W.P. Carey by 1.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,771,487 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $254,839,000 after purchasing an additional 55,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of W.P. Carey by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,171,690 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $214,315,000 after purchasing an additional 49,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.73% of the company’s stock.

About W.P. Carey

W. P. Carey Inc is a diversified net-lease real estate investment trust specializing in single-tenant commercial properties. The company structures sale-leaseback and build-to-suit transactions to provide long-term net lease financing across a variety of asset classes, including industrial facilities, office buildings, retail centers and self-storage facilities. By employing triple net leases, W. P. Carey transfers property operating expenses, taxes and maintenance responsibility to tenants, creating a stable, predictable income stream for investors.

Founded in 1973 by William Polk Carey, the firm has expanded organically and through strategic mergers and acquisitions.